Summer supper for eight

An elegant mixed grill starts in the garden -- or at the farmers' market

Riches of the Northwest ― a verdant backyard, aromatic Pinots, and a platter of local sausages, lamb, and produce.

"In summer, my backyard is an intimate outdoor room walled in a tangle of greenery," says Linda Wisner of Portland. The flowers, herbs, and vegetables ― including more than a dozen kinds of tomatoes ― form a natural backdrop for an alfresco dinner party.

Wisner and her brother, Darryl, harvest the late-summer treasures from that garden for this menu for eight ― basil and savory for tomato bruschetta, tarragon for a beurre blanc to set off delicate seafood timbales, nasturtiums for saffron rice, lemon verbena for an icy sherbet. And in keeping with the local-bounty theme, they offer Oregon wines.

But whether you snip the herbs and blooms yourself or fill a basket at a farmers' market, the message of this mixed grill is about the best of the season and the place. (And a good Pinot Noir from anywhere in the West would underline the theme.)